Bamidbar, בְּמִדְבַּר

Passages

Torah: Numbers 4:1 - 4:20
Gospel: Luke 4:14-44

Torah — Numbers 4:1 - 4:20

4:1 The Census of the Kohathites Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

4:2 “Take a census of the descendants of Kohath from the midst of the descendants of Levi, according to their clans and their families,

4:3 from thirty years old and above, up to fifty years old, everyone who comes to the service to do the work in the tent of assembly.

4:4 This is the work of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of assembly, concerning the holiness of the sanctuary:

4:5 When setting out the camp, Aaron and his sons will go and lower the curtain of the covering and cover with it the ark of the testimony.

4:6 They will put on it a covering of fine leather, and they will spread a cloth of perfect blue over it, and they will place its poles.

4:7 And over the table of the presence they will spread out a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes, and libation bowls, and the pitchers of the libation; and the bread of continuity will be on it.

4:8 They will spread over it a scarlet cloth, and they will cover it with a covering of fine leather, and they will place its poles.

4:9 They will take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand for the light source, its lamps, a pair of its tongs, its small pans, and all the vessels of its oil with which they attend to it.

4:10 They will put it and all its vessels inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

4:11 Over the altar of gold they will spread a blue cloth, and they will cover it with a covering of fine leather and place its poles.

4:12 They will take all the vessels of the cultic service with which they serve in the sanctuary and put them on a blue cloth, and they will cover them with a covering of fine leather; and they will put them on the carrying frame.

4:13 They will remove the fat-soaked ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it;

4:14 they will put on it all the vessels with which they serve, the fire pans, forks, shovels, and bowls—all the vessels of the altar. They will spread on it a covering of fine leather; and they will place its poles.

4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary when the camp sets out, the descendants of Kohath will come after to carry these, but they must not touch the sanctuary, or they will die. These are the load of the descendants of Kohath in the tent of assembly.

4:16 “Eleazar son of Aaron the priest is to supervise the oil of the light source, the incense, the regular grain offering, the oil of anointment, the supervision of all the tabernacle and all that is in it, in the sanctuary and in its vessels.”

4:17 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

4:18 “You must not cut off the tribe of the clan of the Kohathites from the midst of the Levites.

4:19 Do this to them and they will live and not die when they come near the most holy things. Aaron and his sons will go and appoint them, each one to his task and burden.

4:20 But they must not go and look for a moment at the holy objects.”

4:1 The Kohath Families The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

4:2 “Count the Kohath families of the Levites. Make a list of them family by family.

4:3 Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.

4:4 “Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy.

4:5 “When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that screens the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain.

4:6 Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the hides. And they must put the poles in place.

4:7 “They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it.

4:8 They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the table in place.

4:9 “They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all of its jars. The jars are for the olive oil that is used in the lampstand.

4:10 Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all of the things that are used with it. They must cover it with the hides of sea cows. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.

4:11 “They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.

4:12 “They must get all of the articles that are used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. Then they must put the articles on a frame to carry them.

4:13 “They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it.

4:14 Then they must place all of the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the hides of sea cows. And they must put its poles in place.

4:15 “Aaron and his sons must cover all of the holy articles that belong to the holy tent. Then the men of Kohath must get ready to carry everything. They must do it when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything that is in the Tent of Meeting.

4:16 “The priest Eleazar will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything that is in it. That includes all of the articles that belong to the tent.”

4:17 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said,

4:18 “Make sure that the Kohath families are not cut off from the Levites.

4:19 I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry.

4:20 But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die.”

Gospel — Luke 4:14-44

4:14 Public Ministry in Galilee And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him went out throughout all the surrounding region.

4:15 And he began to teach in their synagogues, and was praised by all.

4:16 Rejected at Nazareth And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and according to his custom he entered into the synagogue on the day of the Sabbath and stood up to read.

4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll he found the place where it was written,

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed,

4:19     to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

4:20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were looking intently at him.

4:21 And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

4:22 And they were all speaking well of him, and were astonished at the gracious words that were coming out of his mouth. And they were saying, “Is this man not the son of Joseph?”

4:23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Whatever we have heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in your hometown also!”

4:24 And he said, “Truly I say to you that no prophet is acceptable in his own hometown.

4:25 But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months while a great famine took place over all the land.

4:26 And Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

4:27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was made clean except Naaman the Syrian.”

4:28 And all those in the synagogue were filled with anger when they heard these things.

4:29 And they stood up and forced him out of the town and brought him up to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.

4:30 But he passed through their midst and went on his way.

4:31 Jesus Teaches and Heals Many in Capernaum And he came down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.

4:32 And they were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority.

4:33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

4:34 “Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

4:35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And after throwing him down in their midst, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.

4:36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began to talk with one another, saying, “What word is this? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!”

4:37 And news about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

4:38 And after he set out from the synagogue, he went into Simon’s house. And Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a high fever, and they asked him on behalf of her.

4:39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she got up and began to serve them.

4:40 Now as the sun was setting, all who had those who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and placing his hands on every one of them, he healed them.

4:41 And demons also were coming out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Son of God!” And he rebuked them and did not permit them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

4:42 And when it was day, he departed and went to an isolated place. And the crowds were seeking him, and came to him and were trying to prevent him from departing from them.

4:43 But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.

4:44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

4:14 Jesus Is Not Accepted in Nazareth Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. News about him spread through the whole countryside.

4:15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

4:16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue as he usually did. And he stood up to read.

4:17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled it and found the right place. There it is written,

4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has anointed me to tell the good news to poor people. He has sent me to announce freedom for prisoners. He has sent me so that the blind will see again. He wants me to free those who are beaten down.

4:19     And he has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.” ()

4:20 Then Jesus rolled up the scroll. He gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were staring at him.

4:21 He began by saying to them, “Today this passage of Scripture is coming true as you listen.”

4:22 Everyone said good things about him. They were amazed at the gracious words they heard from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

4:23 Jesus said, “Here is a saying you will certainly apply to me. ‘Doctor, heal yourself! Do the things here in your hometown that we heard you did in Capernaum.’”

4:24 “What I’m about to tell you is true,” he continued. “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.

4:25 I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land.

4:26 But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon.

4:27 And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”

4:28 All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that.

4:29 They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him down the cliff.

4:30 But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

4:31 Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee. On the Sabbath day he began to teach the people.

4:32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

4:33 In the synagogue there was a man controlled by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice.

4:34 “Ha!” he said. “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!”

4:35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said firmly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down in front of everybody. And it came out without hurting him.

4:36 All the people were amazed. They said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits. And they come out!”

4:37 The news about Jesus spread throughout the whole area.

4:38 Jesus Heals Many People Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. At that time, Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. So they asked Jesus to help her.

4:39 He bent over her and commanded the fever to leave, and it left her. She got up at once and began to serve them.

4:40 At sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick. He placed his hands on each one and healed them.

4:41 Also, demons came out of many people. The demons shouted, “You are the Son of God!” But he commanded them to be quiet. He would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.

4:42 At dawn, Jesus went out to a place where he could be by himself. The people went to look for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them.

4:43 But he said, “I must announce the good news of God’s kingdom to the other towns also. That is why I was sent.”

4:44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

Passages

Torah — Numbers 4:1 - 4:20

LEB translation

NIRV translation

Gospel — Luke 4:14-44

LEB translation

NIRV translation